Q 01/05

What raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 1909, in the first event ever held there?

A) Racing bicycles

B) Gas balloons

C) Motorcycles

D) Racehorses

Answer · why

B) Gas balloons

Gas balloons lifted off two months before the oval was finished, and the winner drifted for more than a day before landing 382 miles away in Alabama.

Q 02/05

About how many bricks were hand-laid in 1909 to pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard?

A) 3.2 thousand

B) 32 thousand

C) 320 thousand

D) 3.2 million

Answer · why

D) 3.2 million

3.2 million bricks, each weighing about 10 pounds, were set by hand over a bed of sand. All but a three-foot strip at the start-finish line now lie un...

Q 03/05

Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 without a riding mechanic by fitting his car with which device?

A) A rear-view mirror

B) A glass windshield

C) A dashboard compass

D) A speedometer

Answer · why

A) A rear-view mirror

A rear-view mirror did the job of the mechanic who normally watched for overtaking cars, though Harroun later said the rough track shook it so badly t...

Q 04/05

What is the Indianapolis 500 winner handed to drink in Victory Lane, a custom Louis Meyer began in 1936?

A) Champagne

B) Iced tea

C) Milk

D) Root beer

Answer · why

C) Milk

A bottle of milk became the ritual after Meyer asked for buttermilk on a hot day. Drivers now say in advance whether they want whole, 2 percent or fat...

Q 05/05

Which entire country could fit inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with room to spare for Yankee Stadium?

A) Monaco

B) San Marino

C) Liechtenstein

D) Vatican City

Answer · why

D) Vatican City

Vatican City covers about 110 acres, less than half of the 253-acre oval. The track's own list of things that fit inside adds Churchill Downs and the ...